6 global lessons from China’s travel recovery

This year, more than 637 million people travelled over Golden Week, generating around 466 billion yuan (US$68.6 billion) in tourism revenue. Across the country were astounding scenes of attractions and transportation hubs heaving with crowds of mask-clad tourists.

While not quite at last year’s numbers – in 2019, around 782 million Chinese tourists travelled during the same period – it is still a remarkable recovery. Indeed, according to data from McKinsey & Company, hotel occupancy, subway trips and domestic flights are almost at pre-pandemic numbers, while railway has also seen a strong recovery.

So what can be learned from China’s travel recovery?

1. Use discounts, presales and packages to incentivise travellers

One of the most remarkable travel recovery stories in China has been the airline industry. While the industry has been crippled in most other countries, in China, domestic airline travel has already returned to 2019 levels. 

This is largely thanks to aggressive price promotions and attractive packages. Airfares fell an an average of 40% from January to June, while China Eastern Airlines offered unlimited-flight passes, such as “fly at will on weekends”, where customers paid 3222 yuan (US$550) to fly as many times as they liked on weekends for the remainder on 2020. 

As well as offering good discounts, travel companies could also consider partnering with other companies to provide attractive all-in-one packages. Hotels, for example, could partner with local tour companies or activity providers to provide bespoke experiences, further enhancing their offerings.

2. Target high-end consumers

With international borders still closed for the most part, travellers that would have been spending that money on international travel are now looking to explore their own country. This means domestic high-end leisure trips are booming.

This is exactly what we’ve seen in China – occupancy rates at luxury and high-end hotels were back at 85% of 2019 figures by the end of August, representing a significantly faster recovery rate than that seen by mid-range and budget hotels. 

Travel companies could consider what deals and experiences might attract these high-end consumers. Hotels in Shanghai, for example, have launched an “afternoon tea in the cloud” experience, a high tea designed to attract affluent young consumers.

3. Target young consumers

In the beginning, China’s travel recovery was largely driven by young travellers – Millennials and Gen Z – due to the fact that they were less impacted by the coronavirus. According to local travel booking platform Trip.com, those born between 1990 and 1999 accounted for 57% of travel during the May Labour Day holiday in 2020, a significant increase from 21% during the same holiday period in 2019.

Again, travel companies could consider what deals and experiences might draw a younger crowd, whether that’s Instagram-worthy scenery or exciting/fun/adrenaline-inducing experiences like scuba diving or paragliding. 

4. Encourage staycationers

Due to restrictions not just on international travel but also cross-province travel in China, local and short-haul trips became quite popular post-lockdown. According to navigation app Amap, users making short road trips increased 50% from June to August. There’s opportunity, therefore, to entice travellers from around your area to explore their own backyard.

Self-guided and self-driving trips have also proven very popular in China, with the same McKinsey & Company survey showing that over half of respondents would “likely” or “definitely” choose a self-guided trip or self-driving trip for their next leisure trip. Travel companies could therefore look at ways to inspire travellers to undertake short trips closer to home. To give people short-trip inspiration, Airbnb in China launched a series of “48 Hour” livestreams on WeChat each weekend where viewers could watch KOLs and influencers experience a particular area.

5. Boost social media presence

Social media is an important way to engage with various key demographics, such as young travellers or staycationers. 

In China, we’ve seen travel companies use social media in innovative and creative ways in order to target young consumers in particular. Trip.com, for example, launched a series called “Boss Livestreams” on WeChat, hosted by chairman James Liang, during which he’d wear costumes while introducing hotels and travel destinations. The entertaining content and heavy promotions drew a huge following which grew from 9.8 million in April to 16 million in June.

Even if recovery still seems like a long way off, it’s crucial to maintain communication with customers so that, when circumstances change, you’re prepared to capitalise and jump quickly on any opportunities. Social media is an excellent means of keeping people informed about what’s going on in the area, providing travel advice and inspiration, sharing deals and promotions, and fielding direct queries from travellers.

6. Augment experiences digitally

Coronavirus has changed many things about how we travel, with people opting for self-guided trips over tours, and cleanliness expectations heightened. In order to draw travellers to their destination, Chinese travel companies have turned to technology to augment their experiences.

Huazhu Hotels, for example, have provided contactless check-in and check-out services, via their app or kiosks, since January, in order to limit human contact. Some of their hotels even use robots to deliver room service and outside deliveries to their customers. 

Many attractions are also providing self-guided audio or video tours through apps, while some cruise lines have launched livestreaming channels to highlight cultural experiences.

Ready your digital assets

If China’s numbers remain low, international borders may soon start to open up to Chinese travellers. If you’re not ready to pounce on this opportunity, get in touch. We can help you ready your digital assets, such as your website and WeChat account, in order to target and engage this important demographic.